


Stuck in the Future, Caught in the Past

by Tiffsyyy



Series: Writevember 2018 → SVT [6]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Death, Established Relationship, F/M, Time Travel, past present
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 03:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16779169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiffsyyy/pseuds/Tiffsyyy
Summary: Prompt: Seokmin received letters from his future self once a week. Suddenly, it stops and you, who is from the future, are the only one who knows what happened





	Stuck in the Future, Caught in the Past

_21/11/2018_

Every week, without fail, a letter would pop up on seokmin's bedside table when he woke up. The letters were from his future self, roughly 20 years ahead, and seokmin had given up on trying to give logic to this, instead accepting that the world is a mysterious thing. He would share his letters with me and ask what I thought of it. I would always say they were interesting and pushed seokmin to watch out for certain things mentioned in the letters.

One day it stopped.

Seokmin questioned it. After many weeks of not getting the letters, he eventually gave up. He moved on in his life, never forgetting the advice from the existing letters he did receive but not caring at all what had happened for the letters to stop.

But I did. I cared.

For I was the deliverer of the letters. I am from the future.

* * *

_21/11/2038._

I was married to him. Lee Seokmin. A professor at a nearby university. A loving husband.

An underground scientist on time traveling.

He refused to let the government know about his researches, fearing that they will use it for harm. Even in his forties, he was very considerate towards the world. That was the man I fell in love with. The man who charmed me to his bed. The man with the all too wide smile and all too wide imagination. That man.

He had put his life and time into it, on the way to creating the machine and writing letters to his past so that when he might meet, he'd get to give it to them.

Today, he came home to tell me that he's completed the machine.

He talked about it over the dinner I've made. His eyes shined; something I haven't seen in one too many nights. He explained the process. How it was a tough one to build. How many codes had to be input into it. How no education could get him ready for the creativity he had to put into it. And he spoke about the risks that it could make a rift in the fabric of space. That if not used properly, the body of the Traveller could be torn apart across time. That's what he called the users of time traveling. Travellers. How simple, yet chic.

That night, both of us basked in the soft lights of candle, just cuddling each other. I spoke of my day, he spoke of his. How his students were a difficult crowd. How his fellow colleagues thought he was friendly, yet vague. He could tell, he said, by the expressions on their faces.

I had observed him throughout dinner to then. He was, almost as if, a new man. My heart flared of affection for him as I gave him a deep kiss. He kissed back. When we were done, he slid out of bed and grabbed his pen and paper. Another letter, another day. Once done, he neatly folded it and placed it in a envelope. Then, straight into a locked drawer.

Before he slept that night, he told me the passcode for activation.

»»————- ★ ————-««

The next evening, he didn't return home. I waited. I was worried. It couldn't be a coincidence that he completed his machine yesterday and today, he didn't return. Worried, I wrapped myself in my coat with my purse in hand and headed out. I tried several more times to call him. He didn't answer. As I turned a right to the main street, I heard a loud screeching and an even louder crash.

My head snapped as I looked up to see that a vehicle had hit a man. Blood rushed up to my head as I recognized who the man was.

_Seokmin_

Everything happened in slow motion and I couldn't really remember what happened but when I blinked again, I had him in my arms. His head was bloodied and so was his arms. He was scraped up. I tried hard to blink away the tears but the more I did, the more I cried. I cradled his face as he gasped for breath.

My love, my dear, my sweetheart.

_Wouldn't it be so dear that the universe returned you to me?_

»»————- ★ ————-««

The police had suspected it was a murder and the driver who cause the accident had escaped. During the questioning, they had asked me if Seokmin had any public or even private enemies. I didn't know and the question only made me question but no matter how much I denied it in my mind, I knew it was related to the time traveling machine. If only I could go back in time to when the driver hit Seokmin but I can't. The machine wasn't made for short time travel. According to what he said, it would be one of the factors of making a rip in time and space. I'm no scientist but I know that's bad. Seokmin had made the machine so that it could travel 20 years back and forth.

The only solution now is to prevent his murder by reliving 20 years.

I planned to take the letters to give it to past Seokmin. There's a butterfly effect risk but that's a risk I'm willing to take. Perhaps by going back to change things, i could also change the life route of my husband.

I didn't sleep a wink that night, as I try to formulate a plan good enough for the past

»»————- ★ ————-««

I sat in the funeral parlour, in front of the body freezer that held Seokmin. His funeral was going to be held later in the afternoon. I could only gaze at him through the glass. The funeral house's staff had done a good job in cleaning and fixing him. His hair was clean and slicked back and he was dressed in his favourite suit– the very one he wore to the dinner that he proposed to me. My heart ached. I missed him.

I hadn't slept the night before. Or the night before that. That resulted in the throbbing pain in my temples. My heart skipped when I recalled seokmin's strong hands massaging me whenever I had a tiring day. My hands clenched on my thighs as I held back tears. Oh...

The rest of the day went by like a spring's breeze. I almost had no recollection of the funeral and burial, just know that I had been hugged by many people, friends and relatives alike. And the moment the coffin was closed and sealed. That hurt too. I think that was the true moment where I shed tears in front of everyone. I thought my heart would stop when they lowered him down but it was a pity it didn't. I couldn't either.

The more I thought, the more it made sense that his death would have been a murder. He had been hush hush about his work for many months and I was the only person he trusted, besides his teaching assistant who had become seokmin's best friend shortly after he began his professor profession. They had entered the job field at the same time and bonded well. I would say it's Soonyoung but I can't point fingers, especially when soonyoung had treated us so nice, even assisted me in the funeral process. I wouldn't say it's him.

When all was done, I simply rocked back into the vacant,cold bed. Without him taking up space, it felt like there was a vast amount of never ending duvet.

I couldn't sleep that night, either.

»»————- ★ ————-««

Morning, also described as the crack of dawn. When suns rise and birds chirp. Said to contain the highest Vitamin D in the atmosphere. Most people would have just woken up so my presence here in between two buildings where it stinks with a duffle bag of clothes is an odd addition to the morning atmosphere.

Truth is, I'm looking for the opening to seokmin's underground lab. I rubbed my shivering palm on the gross moldy wall, looking for the small button that opens the door. How did seokmin always effortlessly find the button, I don't know how. All I know is my tired limbs dragging over unending morning mold.

After a valiant effort with a side of breaking a sweat, I felt a small cylindrical nub. My heart swelled with sleepless accomplishment as I pressed the button. A dwarf sized door popped open next to me. I crouched down and crawled in.

It was dark inside, as it was with any ominous lab for time travel research situated in a secret wall in an alleyway. I search the walls once more for a light switch. I found it and pressed. The hanging stars flickered for a few before flashing bright. I squinted, not quite used to the brightness. I quickly closed the dwarf door to avoid being outed, if this wasn't already by whatever person who killed seokmin.

The walls were surprisingly green, and I don't mean that it was covered in mold. The ceiling was low and dome like. I slowly set my bag down on the table full with research paper. On another table was an odd looking object. It was round, palm sized and looked really compact. A thin, gauze like wire connected it to the big dashboard computer.

It must be the machine, I realized.

The machine made by seokmin was right there. Tears welled up as my vision blurred blotchy. My mind wandered to the night he told me how it worked, with full details. I remembered it, clear as the sun. Looking back at the table full of notes, I discovered a sheet of paper with a full report of the machine, handwritten by the late. I took it and pinned it on the plaster wall. An accomplishment deserving of awards.

Now focused on the technology in front of me, I stepped forward slowly, as if it might explode. When it was within reach, I grasped onto it. I held onto the memory of seokmin's words went over to the dashboard to activate. At first I had trouble switching on the dashboard; it was one of those old chunky ones but soon, soft lights emitted from the screen as a green landscape covered the screen of the dashboard

My eyes travelled across the screen and finally found the file labelled "tm". I clicked on it and a sizeable window opened. There were spaces and a big flashy "ACTIVATION CODE" covered half the window. I looked down at the keyboard and back up at the screen. My mind was blank as I scoured for the one single string of memory. Then, I found it

_"Guess what I put as the activation code" seokmin asked as he chewed on his meat "try to guess"_

_"Hmm.. I don't know... Your birthday?" I asked, unsure_

_"Nope" he said as he flashed his signature sunshine smile "try again"_

_"Ah.. I'm not sure I want to know then" I replied_

_His eyebrows furrowed as poured "fine! I'll tell you... You and your mind manipulation" he said. The last bit came as a mumble but I could still hear it_

_"I'm not a kindergarten teacher for nothing" I giggled. My heart let out a deep sigh as my bottomless pit of love for seokmin seemed.. bottomless_

_"It's our wedding date" he paused for an effect_

_"29th December 2025. 291225"_

* * *

Two letters sat in each hand.

One held the words of seokmin, the one I loved till death did we part

One held the words of mine, capable of preventing a death that shouldn't have and shouldn't deserve to happen

I knew what i should do

* * *

_1/12/2038._

The one who I should love. I relived 20 years over again for him. Except in this reality and time, I made changes, not for my love but for the world

He was a famous and successful scientist, the first to discover time travel. When the government found out about it, he made a deal with them, to only use it for justice and good. Funds were brought in for his research. His machine was even better then the one I had in my timeline. It could travel back in minutes and even forward seconds.

The world is a better place, with lesser crimes.

But we never got married.

I couldn't. The day I vowed to my seokmin, I'd made a death vow. So I couldn't when this reality's seokmin proposed. He had understood an instead focused on his life's work. We were still best friends and very close like family.

* * *

_Dear Seokmin,_

_Time travel is real and these letters are prove of it. Do not be afraid to show it to the government but make sure they use it for justice. It will take a long time for you to make the machine but it will be a joyous journey. There will be people who want to get to you. Do not be afraid. Good luck_

_Your dear future self,_

_Lee seokmin_


End file.
